The National Air and Space Museum commemorates the history of flight and educates and inspires people through its collections, exhibitions, research, and programs related to aviation, space flight, and planetary studies.

Bell XV-15 TRRA (Tilt Rotor Research Aircraft), Ship 2

The XV-15 Tilt Rotor technology demonstrator was the culmination of efforts begun in the early 1950s to produce an aircraft that could takeoff, land, and hover like a helicopter, but with the speed of an airplane. The rotor pylons tilt from vertical to horizontal to eliminate the speed barriers imposed on conventional helicopters by retreating-blade stall and allowed the XV-15 to operate at speeds of 550 kph (345 mph TAS).

This is the second of the two XV-15s built by Bell under a joint NASA/US Army program. It served from 1979 through 2003, demonstrating operations under a wide range of conditions and logged 700 hours in testing. Its success encouraged Bell and the US Marine Corps to develop a scaled-up Tilt Rotor, the MV-22, as a replacement for Marine transport helicopters. In association with Agusta Aerospace, Bell also developed the Model 609 civil Tilt Rotor with experience gained from the XV-15 program.

The XV-15 Tilt Rotor technology demonstrator was the culmination of efforts begun in the early 1950s to produce an aircraft that could takeoff, land, and hover like a helicopter, but with the speed of an airplane. The rotor pylons tilt from vertical to horizontal to eliminate the speed barriers imposed on conventional helicopters by retreating-blade stall and allowed the XV-15 to operate at speeds of 550 kph (345 mph TAS).

This is the second of the two XV-15s built by Bell under a joint NASA/US Army program. It served from 1979 through 2003, demonstrating operations under a wide range of conditions and logged 700 hours in testing. Its success encouraged Bell and the US Marine Corps to develop a scaled-up Tilt Rotor, the MV-22, as a replacement for Marine transport helicopters. In association with Agusta Aerospace, Bell also developed the Model 609 civil Tilt Rotor with experience gained from the XV-15 program.